One broker is leaving nothing to chance amid the RBC public relations fiasco, creating a web page showing people how to switch their mortgage from the embattled bank to another lender.
One broker is leaving nothing to chance amid the RBC public relations fiasco, creating a web page showing people how to switch their mortgage from the embattled bank to another lender.
“The response to the RBC story has been phenomenal,” says Scott Dawson, a Vancouver mortgage broker who yesterday told MortgageBrokerNews.ca that RBC’s public relations stumble in outsourcing its IT work to a company based in India was “gold” for mortgage brokers.
“I created a page on my website outlining what's required for an RBC client to switch their mortgage.” He says. “After sharing the link to clients and industry associates on various social media sites, it has already become the most visited page on my site.”
Dawson, who promoted his new webpage “RBC Mortgage Switch” on his twitter feed Tuesday morning, is well-known in the channel for his blogging, magazine writing and participation in the online Canadian Mortgage Hangout forum.
“A quick search on Twitter and Facebook clearly shows that people are upset about what RBC has allegedly done and are talking about it openly,” he told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “Personally, I know of one person who has already moved all of their day-to-day banking to another financial institution because of it.”
RBC confirmed Sunday that it was laying off 45 employees who do its IT-related work, outsourcing jobs to a smaller group of employees who work for iGATE and would be granted Canadian temporary work permits . The move to outsource had been approved by Ottawa prior to the announcement.
That controversial move by RBC followed another, with the banking titan confirming it would increase its mortgage discharge and switch-out fee structure, from $250 to $300 – the second such $50 increase in consecutive years.
For Dawson, his webpage is designed to help educate RBC customers, and offer them not just a financial solution, but possibly an ethical one as well.
“Possible penalties aside, moving your mortgage is a bit more complicated than just walking into a branch to close your account,” says Dawson. “I set up the page to assist RBC customers so they can become more informed about the process and help them navigate the many Canadian mortgage lenders and help you choose one that makes not only financial sense, but ethical sense as well.”
